Diverse City,

White Curriculum:
The Exclusion of People of Color from
English Language Arts in NYC Schools
A REPORT FROM THE NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE
About this Report
This report was written at the request of
the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
(CEJ), by the Education Justice Research and
Organizing Collaborative (EJ-ROC) at the NYU
Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and
the Transformation of Schools. The demographic
analysis was conducted by Jacqueline Aboulafia,
Huiying B. Chan, Timothy Davis, Charlotte Dubiel,
Jahqué Bryan Gooden, Megan Hester, Tahia Islam,
Teona Pagan, and Alyana Vera. Graphic design
by HOUSEOFCAKES. For questions or more
information about CEJ, contact ncapers@nyccej.org
or visit www.nyccej.org. For more information
about EJ-ROC and the NYU Metro Center,
contact nyu-ejroc@nyu.edu.
Introduction
Every few weeks or months, a
racist incident in the nation’s
public schools explodes on social
media - a mock slave auction, a
teacher cutting a child’s dreadlocks,
blackface at a school party, racial
slurs on the walls—shining a light
on the deep inequities and racial
hostilities that students of color
live with every day. Some people
are outraged, schools are defensive
or apologetic, and then the public
gaze moves on. But there is little
attention to another ongoing, daily
injustice inflicted on millions of
students: experiencing year after
year of school curriculum that does
not reflect them, their families or
their communities.
The lack of representation in curriculum
presents a developmental challenge for
students striving to establish their identity
and sense of self; it also presents an academic
challenge, as research shows that students
engage more deeply and achieve at higher
levels when their curriculum connects to
their identities and experiences. Research
demonstrates that for students of color
and white students, culturally responsive
education decreases dropout rates and
suspensions, and increases grade point
averages, student participation, self-image,
critical thinking skills and graduation rates
(Browman, 2011 Butler-Barnes, 2018; Carter,
2008; Laird, 2005; Morell, 2013).1 Research
from Tucson, AZ shows that students who
took Mexican-American Studies classes scored
better in Math, Reading and Writing, and were
significantly more likely to graduate from
high school—low-income and academically
struggling students made the largest gains.2
Students were also more engaged in literature
and history lessons, and more likely to have a
positive perception of their ability to succeed
in math and science.3 Research from the San
Francisco Unified School District shows that
9th graders who took Ethnic Studies courses
improved their attendance on average by 21
percentage points, their GPA by 1.4 grade
points, and their earned credits by 23 credits. 4
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 Over the past three years, parents with
the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
(CEJ) have pushed the NYC Department
of Education (DOE) to embrace culturally
responsive-sustaining education (CRSE) as
a key strategy for an equitable education
system with high levels of engagement and
achievement for all students. This campaign
has included advocating for anti-bias and
cultural competency trainings for school staff,
as well as diverse and culturally responsive
curriculum. In February 2019, CEJ partnered
with the NYU Metropolitan Center for
Research on Equity and the Transformation
of Schools (NYU Metro Center) on a report
exposing the exclusion of people of color
from commonly-used K-5th grade English
Language Arts (ELA) curriculum in New York
City. That report, Chronically Absent, showed
that while 85% of NYC public school students
are Black, Latinx or Asian, 84% of the books
in ten commonly-used K-5th grade curricula
are written by white authors and 51% have
white main characters.5 While CRSE goes
far beyond demographics, representation is
a critical and foundational component. As
scholar Rudine Sims Bishop stated, “When
children cannot find themselves reflected in
the books they read, or when the images they
see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they
learn a powerful lesson about how they are
devalued in the society of which they are a
part” (Bishop, 1990).6
NYC DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza
has been a lifelong champion of culturally
responsive education and has said that:
“the idea of having culturally responsive
and sustaining curricula and pedagogy is
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not a matter of just educational practice.
In many of our communities, it’s a matter
of life and death.”7 Under Carranza and his
top leadership, the NYC DOE has made
important strides toward CRSE. Over the past
18 months, tens of thousands of DOE staff
have received implicit bias training. In July
2019, DOE adopted a definition of culturally
responsive-sustaining education as: “a cultural
view of learning and human development
in which multiple forms of diversity (e.g.,
race, social class, gender, language, sexual
orientation, nationality, religion, and ability)
are recognized, understood, and regarded
as indispensable sources of knowledge for
rigorous teaching and learning.” The definition
explains that “CRSE uses educational
strategies that leverage the various aspects of
students’ identities, including the rich cultural,
racial, historical, linguistic characteristics of
students to provide mirrors that reflect the
greatness of who their people are and windows
into the world that allow students to connect
across cultures.”8 In September 2019, Carranza
announced that the DOE is revamping the
NYC Reads 365 booklist and launched a CRSE
Fellows program for a cohort of 60 teachers to
support the expansion of culturally responsive
curriculum and pedagogy. The DOE also
committed that “vendors will be required to
comply with the CRSE definition whenever the
DOE solicits new Core curriculum,” but has
not specified a timeline, nor has Mayor Bill de
Blasio dedicated any funds.9 Meanwhile, the
more than 875,000 children in 3-K to 8th grade
in NYC public schools continue to spend their
days immersed in curriculum that largely does
not reflect their backgrounds and identities, or
those of their classmates.
How Diverse Are
NYC Curricula?
This new report extends CEJ’s
initial analysis to early childhood
and middle grades, and shows that
the massive over-representation
of white authors and characters is
most severe in Mayor de Blasio’s
signature 3-K and Pre-K programs
that have brand new curriculum,
and not much better in the middle
grades, which is a critical time
period for identity development.
We analyzed 1,200 books across
16 commonly-used curricula and
booklists from 3-K through 8th
grade, examining the racial/ethnic
demographics of the book authors
and the cover characters (as a
proxy for main characters) and
comparing that to the demographic
composition of NYC public schools.
These numbers describe a curriculum that
is damaging for children of all backgrounds.
Scholar Rudine Sims Bishop explained thirty
years ago:
Children from dominant social groups have
always found their mirrors in books, but
they, too, have suffered from the lack of
availability about others. They need the
books as windows onto reality, not just on
imaginary worlds. They need books that will
help them understand the multicultural nature
of the world they live in, and their place as
a member of just one group, as well as their
connections to all other humans…. If they
see only reflections of themselves, they will
grow up with an exaggerated sense of their
own importance and value in the world - a
dangerous ethnocentrism (1990).
The availability of both mirrors and
windows in books is essential to the healthy
development of all children, but many New
York City schools are currently offering only
mirrors to white children, and only windows to
children of color.
The following sections detail the extent and
nature of racial inequity in curriculum in each
of three grade bands: early childhood (3-K and
Pre-K), elementary grades, and middle grades.
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 DIVERSITY IN NYC CURRICULA, 3-K TO 8TH GRA
We analyzed more than 1,200 MIDDLE EASTERN
books across 15 commonly-used
curricula and booklists from N/A
3-K and Pre-K through 8th 0.2% 3 of 1,205 authors
grade, examining the racial/
ethnic demographics of the book 1% 6 of 783 books
authors and the cover characters
(as a proxy for main characters)
and comparing that to the NATIVE AMERICAN
demographic composition of
NYC public schools. Across N/A
all eleven grades, white authors 1% 15 of 1,205 authors
and characters are massively
over-represented. 3% 25 of 783 books
NYC STUDENT
POPULATION
LATINX
AUTHORS
OF BOOKS

HUMAN COVER
CHARACTERS
4% 47 of 1,205 authors
8% 62 of 783 books

ASIAN

16%
5% 55 of 1,205 authors
10% 80 of 783 books

BLACK

26%
7% 82 of 1,205 authors
27% 211 of 7

WHITE

15%

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ADE
Of the 1,205 books we analyzed,
1,003 books were by white authors
yet white students represent only
15% of NYC’s student population.
This nearly five times more books
than by all authors of
color combined.
41%
783 books
51% 399 of 783 books
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It is important to note that when
it comes to Native American
representation in the curricula,
proportionality is not the correct
measure. The number of Native
American students in NYC public
schools is low due to colonization and
genocide, but it is still crucial that all
students learn the past and present
of Native American cultures and
communities on whose land we reside.
83%
1,003 of 1,205
authors
5
 3-K and Pre-K for All
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Across all five of these curriculum and
booklists, there are extremely few authors
launched Pre-K for All in 2015 and
of color:
3-K for All in 2018. These initiatives
Of the 42 texts in the Pre-K 4 All curriculum,
have been a centerpiece of his there are 0 Black authors, 0 Native authors,
education agenda and his political 0 Middle Eastern authors, 1 Latinx author, 1 Asian
author, and 40 white authors.
legacy—touted widely locally,
statewide and nationally. Yet this Out of 121 texts in the 3-K Explorations
Curriculum, there is 1 Latinx author, 1 Native
analysis shows that the curricula author, 3 Black authors, 7 Asian authors, and
109 white authors.
developed and promoted for these
programs—3-K For All Explorations Of the 20 texts in the NYC Reads 365 Pre-K
booklist, there are 0 Black authors, 0 Native
curriculum, the Pre-K For All authors, 0 Asian authors, 1 Latinx author, and
Foundational curriculum, Scholastic 19 white authors.

Pre-K booklist, and the DOE’s NYC Of the 38 texts in the Scholastic Pre-K booklist,
there are 0 Black authors, 0 Latinx authors, 0 Native
Reads 365 Pre-K booklist as well authors, and 2 Asian authors, and 36 white authors.
as the NY Public Library booklist—
Of the 12 texts in the NYPL booklist, there are
have almost no representation of 0 Latinx authors, 0 Asian authors, 0 Native authors,
students’ cultures and communities. 1 Black author, and 11 white authors.

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While a large number of 3-K and Pre-K texts REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS AND
feature animals or cartoons, we analyzed HUMAN COVER CHARACTERS IN
the books featuring human main characters 3K & PRE-K
to assess the diversity of representation.10 NYC STUDENT
POPULATION
AUTHORS OF
BOOKS
HUMAN COVER
CHARACTERS

While there is greater diversity among cover

LATINX
characters than authors, white characters
are still significantly overrepresented 41%
compared to the NYC student population 1%
and most of the characters of color are written
by white authors.
5%

In the Pre-K 4 All curriculum and NYC Reads 365 BLACK

booklist, every single book that centers a Black or
Asian character is written by a white author.
26%
2%
In the 3-K Explorations Curriculum, 20 of the 22
books that center Black characters are written by 32%
white authors.
ASIAN
In the Scholastic booklist, every single book
that centers a character of color is written by a 16%
white author. 5%
The lack of representation extends to non-racial 11%
identities as well. Of the 205 books covered in
this analysis, only one cover represents a person
WHITE
with disabilities, although there are more than
170,000 students with disabilities in NYC schools 15%
through 8th grade, making up 20% of NYC public
school students.
92%

55%
NATIVE AMERICAN
N/A
0%
1%

MIDDLE EASTERN
N/A
0%
0%

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REPRESENTATION OF ALL COVER CHARACTERS When animals are added to the analysis, the
IN 3K & PRE-K under-representation of people of color is even
NYC STUDENT ALL COVER more stark.
POPULATION CHARACTERS

LATINX
This analysis shows that in every one of
the DOE’s early childhood curricula and
41%
booklists, students read many times more
3% books featuring animal characters than books
about all characters of color combined. While
BLACK
books about animals have their place in ELA
26% curricula, they should not be to the exclusion
14% of books about people of color.

Even in New York City’s most touted education

ASIAN
initiative, students of color are denied the
16% opportunity to see the positive reflections
4% of themselves and their identities that white
students are granted. These statistics are
WHITE especially shameful because the 3-K and
15% Pre-K curricula were newly created by the
DOE in the last few years, yet are still so
28%
unrepresentative of NYC students. While some
NATIVE AMERICAN schools may adapt or customize their own
N/A curriculum to their student population, many
0% more are likely to use these free resources
promoted by the DOE—resources that exclude
MIDDLE EASTERN the stories of students’ communities, causing
N/A damage to student achievement, academic
0% engagement, and social development.

ANIMALS
N/A

51%

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Elementary Grades
To assess diversity and REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS AND HUMAN
COVER CHARACTERS IN K-5TH GRADE
representation in K-5th grades, NYC STUDENT AUTHORS OF HUMAN COVER

CEJ and the NYU Metro Center POPULATION BOOKS CHARACTERS

analyzed three booklists LATINX

(Scholastic, NYC Reads 365, and the 41%

New York Public Library booklist) 5%
and six K-5 curricula (Ready 9%
New York/CCLS, EL Education, BLACK
ReadWorks, Pearson ReadyGen, 26%
Junior Great Books, and Great 7%
Minds) for author and character 28%
diversity. Across all six grades,
white authors and characters are ASIAN

massively over-represented. 16%

4%
10%
WHITE

15%

83%

50%
NATIVE AMERICAN
N/A
1%
3%

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 These numbers demonstrate that most of REPRESENTATION OF ALL
the 200,000 Latinx children, 130,000 Black COVER CHARACTERS IN K-5TH GRADE
children and 80,000 Asian children in NYC NYC STUDENT
POPULATION
ALL COVER
CHARACTERS
public elementary schools could graduate 5th
grade almost never having read a book by an LATINX

author of their cultural background. Many 41%

Latinx and Asian children can graduate 5th 6%
grade having barely ever read a book about a
character of their cultural background. BLACK

Specifically: 26%
Of the 74 books in the ReadWorks curriculum, only
20%
4 are by Black authors.
ASIAN
Of the 87 authors in the EL Education curriculum, 16%
only 4 are by Latinx authors.
7%
Of the 82 authors in the Great Minds curriculum,
there is not a single Asian author. WHITE

Among the 9 curricula and booklists, not a single

15%
one had an author of Middle Eastern descent, and 35%
8 out of 9 didn’t have a single cover character of
Middle Eastern descent.
NATIVE AMERICAN

Among the 9 curricula and booklists, five did not N/A

have a single Native American author.
2%
While the representation of Black cover characters is
most proportional to school system demographics, ANIMALS
very few of those characters appear in books N/A
written by Black authors. The majority of Black
characters are written by white authors. 30%
The small number of Asian authors and characters
represents such a vast range of countries and
cultures, that it is extremely unlikely that an Asian
child will encounter an author or character from
their own cultural identity.

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This invisibility can have extremely damaging Some common themes that the scoring teams
impacts on children’s concept of themselves found are:
and their engagement in school. When we add
When non-US countries and cultures are covered
animal characters to our analysis, we find that
in the curriculum, the focus is often on poverty,
over the course of six years from kindergarten violence and deprivation, rather than strengths
to 5th grade, students read more books whose and assets. This makes the curriculum appear to be
cover characters are animals than books diverse while it perpetuates a narrative that other
whose cover characters are Latinx, Black or countries need help from the United States and its
values, resources, and institutions.
Asian people.
People in countries outside the USA are often
To break those numbers down further:
presented as being strange or different (one
curriculum cautioned teachers about “hard to
In 8 out of the 9 curricula, more books feature
pronounce names” in a story about Nepal),
animals as cover characters than Latinx or Asian
rather than identifying points of identification
people as cover characters.
and connection.
In 7 out of the 9 curricula, more books feature
The curricula rarely encourage teachers to
animals as cover characters than Black people as
connect learning to students’ own experiences
cover characters.
or allow students to bring their own knowledge
into the classroom, thus missing opportunities for
In 5 out of the 9 curricula, more books feature
students to engage and identify with the texts.
animals as cover characters than Latinx, Black
and Asian people as cover characters combined.
In many curricula, the only guidance for teachers
related to cultural diversity concerns English
For the K-5th grade curricula, CEJ and NYU Language Learners (ELLs). This guidance is
Metro Center took this analysis a step further usually about language acquisition and does not
to look at how culturally responsive the acknowledge that ELLs bring rich experiences and
knowledge from their home countries, or that
curricula are, because books with diverse
multilingualism is a strength that can be tapped
authors and characters may still communicate for learning.
negative or deficit-based messages about
people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ
people, people with disabilities, and other
marginalized identities. We convened teams
of parents, teachers, organizers, and
community members to use the NYU Metro
Center’s Culturally Responsive Curriculum
Scorecard to evaluate sample units from 7
curricula for Representation, Social Justice,
and Teachers’ Materials.11

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 The teams used their scores to identify which
of five categories the curriculum falls into:
Culturally Destructive, Culturally Insufficient,
Emerging Cultural Awareness, Culturally
Aware or Culturally Responsive. The teams
felt that the majority of the curricula were
Culturally Destructive.
These scores indicate that problematic issues
embedded in these seven ELA curricula
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go beyond numerical representation to the
discussions and activities that students are
engaged in. The Scorecard Analysis suggests
that the DOE’s ELA curricula are riddled with
deficit messages communicated every day
about people of diverse identities. To address
these deficiencies, it is necessary to revamp not
only the texts that students are reading in ELA
classes but the instructional materials as well.
Middle Grades
Research shows, and any adult can
testify from personal experience,
that the middle school years are
critical for development of a
child’s sense of self, identity and
community. Healthy or unhealthy
messages and perceptions about
racial, cultural and sexual identities
can have significant impacts on a
student’s social-emotional wellness
and academic achievement.
Research shows, for example, that
when Black girls have a positive
understanding of their racial
identity, they are more academically
motivated, more curious and have
greater academic persistence
and achievement.12 By providing
students with diverse literature,
schools can help students develop
healthy identities and become
sensitive to other cultures and
identities.
We analyzed eight commonly-used
middle school curricula (Ready NY/
CCLS, EL Education, Great Minds, Pearson
MyPerspectives, Code X, McGraw-Hill
Wonders, ReadWorks and Houghton-Mifflin
Journeys) and three booklists (NYC Reads
365, NY Public Library and Scholastic) for the
diversity of characters and authors.13
It is clear from this chart that too many of the
books NYC middle school students are reading
do not reflect their identities:
10 out of 11 curricula and booklists have zero
Middle Eastern authors. The Code X curriculum
for 6th and 7th grade is the only curriculum that has
Middle Eastern authors.
Nearly half of the curricula and booklists (5 out
of 11) do not have a single Native American
author. The remaining six curricula and booklists
only have one or two Native American authors.
In the 110 books in the McGraw Hill Wonders 6th
grade curriculum, every single author we could
identify is white.
Of the 53 books in K-8th grades in the Ready NY
CCLS curriculum, 2 are by Asian authors, 3 by
Black authors, and 4 by Latinx authors. The other
44 by White authors.
Of the 124 books in the Great Minds curriculum
from K-8th grade, only 5 are by Latinx authors.
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REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS AND While the story characters are more diverse
HUMAN COVER CHARACTERS IN than the authors, representation is still
6TH-8TH GRADE severely lacking.
NYC STUDENT AUTHORS OF HUMAN COVER
POPULATION BOOKS CHARACTERS
In EL Education curriculum for 8th grade, nearly
LATINX
half of the books feature Black characters and
topics related to civil rights, but almost all of
41% these books are written by White authors.
3%
Of the 26 books with human cover characters in the
8% CodeX curriculum, only 1 is Asian.

BLACK Of the 29 books on the Scholastic middle school

26% book list, only 1 is about a Latinx character.

11% Middle school curriculum should provide

24% opportunities to explore the experiences of
diverse identities beyond race and ethnicity.
ASIAN Research suggests that sexuality and gender
16% identity should be normalized during this
5% age, and one step towards normalization is
inclusion in texts. We examined a sample of
10% two booklists and three curricula to determine
WHITE
if there was any representation of the LGBTQ+
community. We found:
15%
Out of 44 books in the Ready NY CCLS middle
school curriculum, there are no main characters
78% that identify as LGBTQ+.

Out of 19 books in the EL Education middle school

52% curriculum, there are no main characters that
NATIVE AMERICAN identify as LGBTQ+.
N/A
Out of 40 texts in the NYC Reads 365 middle
3% school booklist, only one has a storyline that
represents LGBTQ+ identities.
5%
MIDDLE EASTERN
This is yet another missed opportunity for
N/A middle schools to engage, affirm and challenge
students academically based on the identities
1%
and issues they care about.
2%

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Conclusion
In recent years the percentage
of children’s books published by
authors of color has grown from 7%
(2013) to 22% (2018).14 There have
been more than 3,500 children’s
books published by authors of color
and more than 5,000 published
about people of color in the last
decade—788 books by authors
of color and 1,023 books about
characters of color in 2018 alone.
This is more than enough to fill
the 10-15 books per grade that are
usually part of a curriculum.
Take Latinx students for example,
who represent 41% of NYC students
but are most drastically under-
represented in the curricula: in the
past decade, there have been 812
children’s books published by
Latinx authors and 1,084 books
about Latinx characters. Yet many
of the major curriculum providers
can find barely one book to include
in their curriculum.
These books are not hard to find—a simple
Google search will reveal dozens of websites,
blog posts, and curated booklists with excellent
literature by and about people with a wide
diversity of identities. Individual teachers and
schools have long found these resources on
their own and created culturally responsive
curriculum for their classrooms. But this should
not be the responsibility of each individual
teacher and school.
Spurred by the release of CEJ’s last report,
Teachers College Reading and Writing
Project (TCRWP) has taken significant steps
to revamp their curriculum, and support
teachers to develop culturally responsive
teaching practices. Within the span of just a
few months, TCRWP created a new list of K-5
read-aloud books that mirrors the diversity of
NYC students, shared accompanying lesson
plans, wrote and distributed new middle school
reading units, assembled a Diverse Book List
with input from schools and educators across
the country, and launched multiple professional
development opportunities, including an
Equity Institute and workshops on culturally
responsive teaching. While there is still much
work ahead, TCRWP’s efforts demonstrate that
it is possible to make significant change quickly
that will impact students lives. EL Education is
also in the process of revamping their middle
school curriculum with a culturally responsive
lens, and is looking to do the same for their
K-5th grade curriculum. The DOE’s Middle
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 School Quality Initiative has created a booklist
that is significantly more diverse than any of
the other curricula and booklists we examined.
Creating truly culturally responsive classrooms
and schools is ongoing, lifelong work, but the
CEJ CALLS ON THE NYC DOE TO ACT IMMEDIATELY TO
MEET THE FOLLOWING DEMANDS:
1. T
 he NYC Department of Education
must invest funds to create or
purchase a culturally responsive
English Language Arts curriculum
for all students, from 3-K through
8th grade.
The DOE must develop or acquire instructional
and teachers materials that are engaging, asset-
based, and culturally responsive, and reach
students in every class, every grade, every day.
This can be done through dedicating funds in
Mayor de Blasio’s fiscal year 2021 budget and
issuing a Request for Proposals for the creation
of new curriculum, aligned to the state’s Next
Generation learning standards.
Because many teachers are not accustomed to
teaching curriculum by and about the diverse
cultures of their students, the DOE will need
to provide extensive professional development
in the new curriculum and culturally responsive
pedagogy. A 2018 survey of NYC teachers from
the NYU Metro Center found that 93% of
teachers surveyed said they would be willing to
modify their lessons to connect with students
of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
However, only 41% said they have the proper
resources to do so, and only 29% said they
receive ongoing professional development
to help them diversify their curricula and
instruction.15 There are many experienced
educators in NYC who have deep expertise in
culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy
and could be tapped for this effort.
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enormous progress that some schools and
organizations have made within a short period
of time is evidence that with commitment and
urgency, it is possible to begin addressing these
inequities immediately.
2. The NYC Department of
Education must cut ties with all
curriculum/book vendors whose
materials are not reflective of
NYC student demographics in
their content and authorship, and
consistent with CRE principles.
Companies that promote curriculum and
booklists with virtually no representation of
Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American and Middle
Eastern communities have no place in New
York City schools and should not be receiving
tax dollars from our diverse residents. As the
largest school district in the nation, New York
City has the opportunity to lead in this area,
and influence how children’s curriculum vendors
operate nationally. By refusing to purchase from
vendors who sell white-dominated curriculum
and increasing the demand for books by authors
of color, New York City can push curriculum
vendors to diversify their materials and increase
the availability of culturally responsive curriculum
for school districts across the country.
APPENDIX A:
CURRICULUM RESOURCES
1000 Black Girl Books
grassrootscommunityfoundation.org/1000-black-
girl-books-resource-guide
A database and resource list compiled by 13-year old
Marley Dias that highlights stories with Black girls
as protagonists.
American Indians in Children’s
Literature
americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
Provides booklists, reviews, and analyses of
indigenous people in children’s books and
curriculum.
Baltimore County Public Schools
Library Information Services
https://bcpslis.pbworks.com/w/page/129831582/
Diverse and Multicultural Book Lists#Hispanic/
Latino/LatinX
Offers diverse lists of prestigious book awards. Book
lists include the Arab American Book Award and the
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.
Blog Roll Call: Diversity in YA
Literature
http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2018/10/
blog-roll-call-diversity-in-ya-literature-a-list-of-
resources-to-help-librarians-diversify-their-shelves/
A blog that provides resources to help librarians
diversify their bookshelves. Noteworthy book lists
include YA pride and Latinos in Kidlit.
Jane Addams Children›s Book
Award
http://www.janeaddamschildrensbookaward.org/
jacba/#jacbaDatabase
An annual award that recognizes books that engage
children in thinking about peace, social justice,
global community, and equity for all people.
Jump Into a Book
https://www.jumpintoabook.com/2019/01/lets-
get-linky-the-2019-multicultural-childrens-book-day-
link-up/?doing_wp_cron=1562598811.8937580585479
736328125
Co-founders of Multicultural Children’s Book Day,
an organization committed to providing updated
multicultural book lists every year.
Lee and Low
https://www.leeandlow.com/
The largest multicultural children’s book publisher
in the US, offers collections of books by grade, level,
and interest.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day
https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/
multicultural-reading-resources/diversity-book-lists-
for-kids/
An organization that celebrates and promotes
diverse children’s books and offers categorized lists
such as countries, world religions, and experiences
of refugee children.
National Education Association
(NEA)
http://www.nea.org/tools/resources-addressing-
multicultural-diversity-issues-in-your-classroom.htm
Offers a categorized list of book lists by theme.
Noteworthy lists include the Asian-American List
and the Bilingual List.
Queer Books for Teens
http://queerbooksforteens.com/best-of-lists/
A comprehensive database of LGBTQIAP+
young adult literature that focuses on the
intersectionalities of racial and sexual identities.
NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE | CHRONICALLY ABSENT | 2020 17
 Social Justice Books
https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/
Identifies and promotes the best multicultural and
social justice children’s books and materials for
educators.

Teaching Tolerance
https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/
texts
A multigenre, multimedia collection of diverse short
texts that include political cartoons, non-fiction,
photographs, and literature.

We Need Diverse Books

https://diversebooks.org/resources/where-to-find-
diverse-books/
An organization that promotes diverse children’s
books and offers a categorized list of diverse
booklists by theme.

Writability
http://avajae.blogspot.com/2015/11/diverse-books-
resource-list.html
A blog that provides a diverse books resource list
that emphasizes characters with disabilities and
explores the intersectionality of identities that
include disability.

Zinn Education Project

https://www.zinnedproject.org/
A site that offers free, downloadable lessons and
articles that emphasize the role of working people,
women, people of color, and organized social
movements in shaping history.

18 2020 | CHRONICALLY ABSENT II | NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

APPENDIX B:
METHODOLOGY

Identifying Curricula authors. The authors excluded from our

analysis because they couldn’t be found online
To identify commonly-used curriculum
are likely to be employees of the curriculum
in NYC schools, CEJ parents asked their
companies, rather than independent children’s
children’s teachers and administrators to see
book authors. Based on the demographics of
the curriculum that their children were being
the curriculum companies, those authors are
taught—a request authorized by the NYC
likely to be white. Additionally, authors of
DOE Parent Bill of Rights.16 In some cases,
color are more likely to publicly identify with
schools shared curriculum readily; in other
their race/ethnicity than are white authors,
cases, there was resistance to sharing that
so they were easier for the researchers to find
information with parents. Several parents
and count.
were given the runaround, asked to set up
meetings with administrators to explain their
request, or promised the information without
Character Analysis
results. CEJ compiled a list of the curricula Researchers searched curriculum company
that parents collected, as well as those that websites and booksellers to find book covers
were shared by teachers and those that are and documented whether the covers depicted
recommended on the DOE website. humans, animals or other images, as well as the
race/ethnicity of human cover characters. We
Author Analysis counted every ethnic identity on a cover only
once, to ensure that one book with five Latinx
To perform the analysis, researchers at the
children on the cover wouldn’t count the same
NYU Metro Center obtained the booklists
as five books about Latinx characters. We found
and curriculum texts on the websites of
some texts that were excerpted from magazines
curriculum companies and entered more than
or written exclusively for the curriculum,
1,200 books into spreadsheets by grade and
in which case there was no relevant cover
author. To identify authors’ race/ethnicity,
image. There were also some texts where we
we searched for biographies and images of
couldn’t identify the race/ethnicity of the cover
the authors on personal websites, LinkedIn,
character. In both of these cases, the texts were
publishing companies websites, news articles,
excluded from the analysis.
and professional associations. While we were
able to find the vast majority of the authors’ The demographic analysis of cover characters
race/ethnicity, we could not identify a small is likely also an undercount of the number
number of authors, and they are omitted from of white characters. There were numerous
our analysis. book covers with characters whose race/
ethnicity could not be determined, or where
The demographic analysis of authors is
the character’s race/ethnicity was unclear
likely an undercount of the number of white

NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE | CHRONICALLY ABSENT | 2020 19

 because of how the character was imaged. One of the shortcomings of the author and
In those cases, we did not search the book character analysis was the inadequacy of
to find identifying information about the the racial/ethnic categories. To compare
main character. But given the overwhelming curriculum demographics with NYC student
predominance of white characters in the demographics, we used the DOE’s racial/
curriculum overall, a majority of those ethnic categories and added categories for
characters are likely to be white as well. Native American and Middle Eastern. We
counted multiracial authors and characters
Identifying LGBTQ+ characters required
as persons of color, and we counted the few
that we look beyond the cover characters as
AfroLatinx authors and characters as Latinx.
a proxy for story characters. We read the
We recommend that the DOE publish more
book summary and skimmed the full text if
comprehensive, detailed analyses of NYC
it was accessible online. If that did not give
student demographics, including categories
us enough information about the characters
for students who identify as Native American,
we read reviews, searched for keywords and
Middle Eastern, multiracial, Afro-Latinx and
used goodreads.com to determine if the book
other identities.
falls under the genre “LGBTQ” or queer”. The
plot did not have to be centered around the
character’s identity to count, as long as there
was a character that identifies as LGBTQ+.

20 2020 | CHRONICALLY ABSENT II | NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

 APPENDIX C:
3K AND PRE-K REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS, 3K AND PRE-K

PreK4All 3K4 All Scholastic NY Public NYC Reads 365 TOTAL

Story Authors NYC Students Foundational Explorations Pre-K Booklist Library Booklist AVERAGE

Latinx 41% 2% 1% 0% 0% 5% 2%
Black 26% 0% 3% 0% 8% 0% 2%
Asian 16% 2% 6% 5% 0% 5% 4%
White 15% 95% 91% 95% 92% 90% 93%
Native No DOE data 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Middle Eastern No DOE data 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN COVER CHARACTERS, 3K AND PRE-K

3K4All Scholastic Pre-K NYC Reads365

Story Characters NYC Students PreK4All Explorations Booklist Book AVERAGE

Latinx 41% 7% 4% 0% 13% 6%

Black 26% 27% 33% 27% 25% 28%
Asian 16% 0% 13% 7% 13% 8%
White 15% 67% 48% 67% 50% 58%
Native No DOE data 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Middle Eastern No DOE data 0% 1% 0% 0% 0%

NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE | CHRONICALLY ABSENT | 2020

21
APPENDIX C:
ELEMENTARY K REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS, K-5TH GRADES
Exped. NYC Reads NY Public
Ready NY Learning/ Great 365 (DOE Library Scholastic Pearson Junior
NYC Students CCLS Engage NY Minds Booklist) Booklist Booklist ReadyGen ReadWorks Great Books Total Average
Latinx 41% 6% 5% 5% 4% 13% 3% 5% 4% 7% 6%
Black 26% 0% 8% 8% 6% 11% 5% 8% 5% 6% 6%
Asian 16% 0% 2% 2% 5% 8% 3% 8% 5% 3% 4%
White 15% 94% 84% 83% 84% 68% 90% 79% 85% 81% 83%
Middle No DOE 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Eastern data
Native No DOE 0% 1% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 1%
American data

2020 | CHRONICALLY ABSENT II | NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN COVER CHARACTERS, K-5TH GRADES
Exped. NYC Reads NY Public
NYC Ready NY Learning/ Great 365 (DOE Library Scholastic Pearson Junior
Students CCLS Engage NY Minds Booklist) Booklist Booklist ReadyGen ReadWorks Great Books Total Average
Latinx 41% 0% 5% 9% 7% 18% 4% 10% 11% 10% 8%
Black 26% 27% 37% 22% 34% 26% 30% 20% 28% 23% 28%
Asian 16% 9% 13% 5% 6% 12% 4% 16% 15% 13% 10%
White 15% 55% 43% 58% 51% 41% 61% 49% 44% 51% 50%
Middle No DOE 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0%
Eastern data
Native No DOE 9% 2% 6% 1% 3% 0% 2% 2% 3% 3%
American data

22
 APPENDIX D:
6TH-8TH GRADE REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION OF AUTHORS, 6TH-8TH GRADES
NYC Reads NY Public Houghton-
NYC Ready NY EL 365 (DOE Library Scholastic Pearson McGraw Mifflin Total
Students CCLS Education Great Minds Booklist) Booklist Booklist Perspectives Code X ReadWorks Hill Journeys Average

Latinx 41% 17% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 5% 8% 0% 4% 4%

Black 26% 6% 18% 12% 8% 0% 3% 17% 22% 23% 0% 0% 0%
Asian 16% 0% 11% 15% 8% 25% 3% 7% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0%
White 15% 78% 71% 65% 83% 50% 90% 69% 64% 69% 100% 93% 93%
Middle No DOE 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Eastern data
Native No DOE 0% 0% 8% 3% 25% 3% 3% 0% 0% 0% 4% 4%
American data

REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN COVER CHARACTERS, 6TH-8TH GRADES

NYC Reads NY Public Houghton-
NYC EL 365 (DOE Library Scholastic Pearson McGraw Hill Mifflin Total
Students Education Great Minds Booklist) Booklist Booklist Perspectives Code X ReadWorks Wonder Journeys Average

Latinx 41% 0% 0% 7% 0% 3% 6% 8% 18% 13% 11% 7%

Black 26% 45% 21% 17% 20% 7% 25% 35% 45% 23% 16% 25%
Asian 16% 15% 14% 13% 40% 7% 13% 4% 0% 5% 11% 12%
White 15% 40% 50% 60% 40% 76% 50% 46% 36% 50% 53% 50%
Middle No DOE 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 0% 8% 0% 2% 0% 1%
Eastern data
Native No DOE 0% 14% 3% 0% 3% 6% 0% 0% 8% 11% 5%
American data

NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE | CHRONICALLY ABSENT | 2020

23
 ENDNOTES
1 Some examples of studies are: https://journals.sagepub.com/
doi/10.3102/0034654315582066; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.12995; https://link.springer.com/
article/10.1007%2Fs11162-005-2966-1
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/%20LvuZi8zZ6ltbw/full
3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mexican-american-studies-
student-achievement_n_6249592?1421108833=
4. http://news.stanford.edu/2016/01/12/ethnicstudies-benefits-011216/
5. http://www.nyccej.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/reportCEJ-
Chronically-Absent-FINAL.pdf
6. https://scenicregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Mirrors-
Windows-and-Sliding-Glass-Doors.pdf
7. https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/10/08/anti-bias-training-
and-culturally-responsive-education-are-a-matter-of-life-and-death-
carranza-says/
8. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/vision-and-mission/
culturally-responsive-sustaining-education
9. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/news/announcements/
contentdetails/2019/09/23/chancellor-carranza-announces-efforts-
to-accelerate-learning-and-instruction-for-2019-20-school-year
10. We did not include the analysis of the New York Public Library
(NYPL) booklist characters. Only 4 of the 12 texts had human cover
characters, and each of those had multiple characters on the front.
To avoid skewing the data toward such a small sample, we excluded
NYPL from the character analysis.
11. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/resources/culturally-
responsive-scorecard
12. https://source.wustl.edu/2017/12/healthy-racial-identity-important-
adolescent-african-american-girls/
13. ReadWorks, McGraw-Hill Wonders and Houghton-Mifflin Journeys
only had 6th grade curriculum available. For Ready NY/CCLS, we
were only able to obtain curriculum samples, rather than the entire
curriculum, for 6th and 7th grades , so the analysis is based on those
samples, which are likely representative of the larger curriculum.
14. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books/pcstats.asp
15. https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/
atn293/coe/Metro_Center_Teacher_Survey_Results_FINAL.pdf
16. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/policies-for-all/parents-
bill-of-rights

24 2020 | CHRONICALLY ABSENT II | NYC COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE

 NYC Coalition for
Educational Justice
Led by parents, the NYC Coalition for Educational
Justice is organizing a movement to end the
inequities in the city’s public school system. We are
a collaborative of community-based organizations
whose members include culturally and racially diverse
parents, family members and community residents.
We are motivated by the urgent need to obtain
a quality, well-rounded and culturally responsive
education for all students. We mobilize the power of
DESIGN: HOUSEOFCAKES

parents and the community to affect policy change

and create a more equitable educational system.

nyccej.org
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
726 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003
nyccej
@cejnyc
youtube.com/watch?v=zhtdcjQtxtw
212.998.5501
nyccej.org